I survived a zero degree school commute

[Anonymous]

I think that school systems that use school buses face a different liability situation in bitter cold. If a bus is late to pick up kids, who are on the sidewalk in the cold, or if it breaks down with kids on board, then the school system is at risk for damages.

On the other hand, in DC where very few kids ride school buses, they can keep schools open and expect parents to make the call that's right for them. I think they should have some kind of "excused absence" or "excused tardy" system in place for days like this, where families are free to make a different decision.

I think that MoCo made the right call in delaying, given the bus situation, and DC made the right call in opening. I also think the different calls make sense in light of the fact that the earliest MoCo schools open more than an hour before the earliest DC schools.